The First Edition of Drabbles for the 100-Drabble Challenge
by NirCele
Summary: This collection contains: #19 - The Lion and the Mouse; #34 - A Book; #35 - Let's Play A Game; #45 - Valinor; #50 - First Word; #54 - Cold; #59 - Feuds; #62 - I Am Flying!


**#19 – The Lion and the Mouse**

"I don't like this," grumbled Erestor, watching as his friend swung a yellow cloak over his shoulders, the color making his golden hair stand out even more.

"Oh, don't be silly." Glorfindel scooped up Erestor's black cloak and tossed it to him. "Here, put this on. Let's go!" He vanished out the door; and Erestor, muttering peevishly under his breath, followed.

Erestor caught up to Glorfindel, having to take two steps to the taller elf's every one. Moving down the hall together, dark and light, ebony and gold, right next to each other; many elves stopped and stared. Soon they reached their destination – the Hall of Fire.

Glorfindel threw the door open and marched grandly in, while the raven-haired adviser followed like a shadow.

Lord Elrond saw them and immediately one image came to mind. "Why, Glorfindel, you look like one of those great cats from the South – a lion, I think it was called!"

"What would that make me?" groused Erestor. "A mouse?"

"" "" ""

**#34 – A Book**

"_Daernana_, can you read us a book?"

Galadriel looked up from her stitching and then down at her daughter's doe-eyed twin sons. "Did you already ask everyone else like I said?"

"Yes," they said mournfully. "_Ada_ is in a meeting with _daerada_, Glorfy is 'training' with the big elves, and 'Restor is busy writing something. _Nana_ wanted to read to us, but she is doing something with the cooking people."

Thinking for a long moment, Galadriel finally nodded and set the tapestry aside she had been working on, holding her arms out. Elladan and Elrohir settled onto her lap and handed her a book, and she opened it to the page they directed her to, and then she began reading.

"" "" ""

**#35 – Let's Play a Game**

Erestor finally tired of ordering Lord Elrond's elfling sons to stop playing around when they were supposed to be working on their handwriting. "Okay, Elladan and Elrohir, let's play a game."

They both looked up at him eagerly, grey eyes shining. "Okay! What is it?"

"It's called…be as quiet as you can, as long as you can, and do your schoolwork. Whoever wins the quiet game gets a prize."

The twins exchanged wary looks. "What's the prize?"

Erestor _hmph_ed. "I will speak to your mother about it."

After a rapidly whispered discussion, both nodded. "Okay, we will play this game with you." Immediately both settled down and started writing as fast as their little hands could move. Pleased, Erestor sat back and returned to the papers he was grading for them.

"" "" ""

**#45 – Valinor**

Elrond stood on the docks of the Grey Havens as the ship sailed away from him. He could feel the pull on his heart increasing as his life-mate stood on the deck of the ship, watching as she drew further away.

His heart broke, tears streaming down his face; he managed to hold in a full bout of weeping for his wife's sake. She raised a hand, her own face wet, once beautiful blonde curls limp and lifeless. Scars were still fading from her face, her body gaunt from torture at the hands of the orcs.

His sons stood behind him, silent; Arwen hadn't had the courage to make the trip. Erestor, ever beside him, was beside him, gripping his arm to keep him from…something.

The sun dropped below the horizon, and the sea gulls called. The ship sailed further and further, and finally the beloved Lady of Imladris was nothing but a faint figure in the distance. Elrond heard one of his sons whisper something, voice breaking, then they both turned and left.

Erestor was still next to him when the ship disappeared over the curve of the sea, and was still there when Elrond finally fell to his knees and sobbed out his grief. The black-clad adviser held his Lord, dark eyes watching the west, and held in his own tears.

And Elrond cried.

"" "" ""

**#50 – First Word**

Elrond and Celebrían sat in the nursery, each holding one of their twin sons.

"Come on, Elladan," Celebrían coaxed. "Say, '_nana_.'"

The elfling stared up at her for a long moment, then gurgled happily, flopping his head sideways to look over at his brother, who Elrond was rocking.

"You can do it," Elrond was saying, "say '_ada_.' There you go, yes…"

Elrohir opened his mouth and both parents waited with bated breath – and then sighed disappointedly when all that came out was a giggle. The twin elflings' big grey eyes met across the room, and in sudden unison, both shrieked,

"EL!"

Celebrían and Elrond stared at each other.

"Did you hear that?" Elrond finally said. As if to confirm it, Elladan howled the first syllable of his brother's name again, and Elrohir followed suit.

Celebrían laughed. "I should have known that would be their first word."

"I think they were trying to say my name," Elrond said, grinning.

Celebrían made a face at him.

"" "" ""

**#54 – Cold**

"Come _on_, Glorfindel!" Erestor sighed with impatience when his friend refused to leave the stables, something wrapped in the long sleeves of his robe.

"I can't," the golden-haired Elda explained patiently. "The kitten is cold; I need to keep her warm."

"This was just a routine inspection," Erestor complained. He glanced up at the rain pouring from the sky and scowled. "Fine, you keep the accursed cat, I'm going inside. I'm getting soaked." Grumbling under his breath, the adviser stomped toward the nearest building.

Ten minutes later, Glorfindel entered the building to find Erestor waiting near the door, the adviser once again dry and pristine. He jerked back from where he had been looking through the tapestries and looked at Glorfindel.

"I assume the kitten is safe then?" His voice was cool, but to Glorfindel's delight, he could detect the slightest tinge of worry.

Glorfindel smiled. "She's fine; I put her with Asfaloth to keep her warm."

"" "" ""

**#59 – Feuds**

"Are you mourning for something? Maybe…life? Is that why you always wear black?"

"You know perfectly well why I wear black. Why do you wear your hair loose all the time? Proud of your golden curls? I've heard the theories of how the Balrog _really_ killed you. It pulled you down by your –"

"Ai! That's not true, and you know it. But why don't you ever smile? Afraid you'll keel over if you let so much as a curl of the lips escape?"

"And you go around with a stupid grin on your face _all_ the time! Smiles are cheap if you use them too often."

"Oh, please. That is absolutely ridiculous. But, you know, I think your parents forgot to _give_ you a smile."

"Don't you dare insult my parents. They had plenty of smiles!"

"Yes, they just didn't give you any."

"And your parents didn't give you any brains!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you joking? I can never tell…you have the most atrocious –"

"HEY!"

Erestor and Glorfindel, startled, looked over at Lord Elrond, who was frowning at both of them. "I'm trying to work. Stop arguing, you two! Should I organize a match in the sparring yard?" With a huff, he stood up and left the room. As soon as he was gone –

"Maybe he _should_ organize a match. We all know who'd win!"

"At brute strength, not at strategy or smarts. You don't even know the difference between a ratio and a scaling!"

"A what?"

"Exactly my point."

"That's all you are, point, point, point."

"Now you're getting pathetic. Going to – oh, don't you dare."

"Try and weasel your way out of _this_!"

"Stop it! Violence is never the answer! Put me down!"

"Glorfindel! PUT Erestor DOWN!"

Glorfindel set Erestor down sheepishly and smiled at Lord Elrond. "All in good fun?"

"You're on stable duty for the next two weeks."

"But I'm the Captain!"

"You shouldn't have made me angry."

"" "" ""

**#62 – I Am Flying!**

"_Ada_, why can't elves fly likes birds can?"

Lord Elrond looked down at his young son and raised an eyebrow at his most recent of odd questions. "Because, Elladan –" He hoped he wasn't Elrohir; they were hard to tell apart, "– we weren't made with wings. Therefore, we can't fly."

"Why don't we have wings?" the elfling persisted.

"Because Ilúvatar chose not to give us wings," Elrond said after wondering himself why they didn't have wings.

Elladan pondered that for a long moment. "Why didn't he give us wings?"

Elrond couldn't find an answer to that. "Go ask your mother."

Giving him a suspicious look, Elladan said slowly, "Have _you_ ever tried flying yourself?"

Elrond remembered a time long ago when both he and his own twin brother had been convinced that they could fly and jumped off the roof of the nearby stables. He had twisted his ankle; Elros had almost broken his leg. "Yes, I have. And it didn't work."

"Oh." Elladan looked inordinately disappointed. "Okay." With that, the elfling vanished out the door of Elrond's study. Less than five minutes later, Elrond was startled to see two identical twins running back and forth in the hallway, shredded crimson tapestries flying behind them, and shrieking at the top of their lungs,

"I AM FLYING!"

"I AM FLYING!"


End file.
